South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore reported a 7% increase in quarterly sales volumes, driven by better freight rail performance. 

The company shipped 10.2 million tons to Saldanha port in the September quarter, up 12% year-on-year. This improvement stemmed from collaboration with bulk mineral producers and state-owned logistics firm Transnet to restore the ore export corridor. 

As a result, iron ore stockpiles at the mine decreased to 5.5 million tons from 6.4 million tons in June, while port inventories saw an increase.

Kumba expects annual sales to approach the upper end of its 35-37 million tons forecast.